Holiday Cheer

The 17th Annual Food Allergy Ball was held in the Temple of Dendur at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Last Tuesday a week, John Demsey who is Group President of Estee Lauder Companies, is also the consummate party giver. In his East Side townhouse, he invites an eclectic group of New Yorkers who are industriously doing things. Including a lot of the fashion world. It's one of those places where even if you don't know everyone you feel welcome because John gives that to his guests. Last Tuesday, a week, he gave his annual Christmas party, surrounded by his closest friends and a lot of their closest friends.

Hearst and McInerney and Farias give this party. Between the three, they have a wide variety of friends. Their annual Christmas cocktail reception is a big list and the kind of party where people came away delighted that they "saw everybody" they knew. The truth is, "everybody" doesn't know everybody, but by the degree of separation with their hosts, all of whom are very sociable individuals, they do know everybody. That's what makes a great holiday cocktail. A chance to feel good, and relaxed, and happy to be there ... at Doubles with Wendy Carduner pulling out all the stops so that the cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were devoured.

George Farias, Anne Hearst McInerney, and Jay McInerney

Alison Mazzola and George Farias

Alison Price Becker, Danny Meyer, and Audrey Meyer

Amanda Hearst, Randy Harris, and Melody Randol

Clara Bingham and Joseph Finnerty

Carolyne Roehm, Simon Pinniger, Nina Griscom, and Lily Griscom

Anne Hearst McInerney, Patty Hearst, and Gillian Hearst Simonds

Cynthia Ott, James Coleman, and Somers Farkas

Jay McInerney, Laurie Waters, and Steve Kroft

Diandra Douglas

John Catsimatidis and Nick Raynes

Daniel Boulud, Katherine Boulud, and Dr. Patrick Stubgen

Dominique Browning, Alex Papachristidis, and Sabrina Rudin

Julian Leffridge and Anne Bass

Darren Walker, Emily Rafferty, and Billy Wright

Emily Rafferty and Wendy Carduner

Jamee Gregory and Peter Gregory

Gary Fisketjon, Debbie Bancroft, and Ken Auletta

Jeanne Lawrence, Hunt Slonem, and Sara Dodd

Laura Hunt, Ann Dexter-Jones, Jennet Conant, and Nicole Miller

Laura Zeckendorf and Will Zeckendorf

Leslye de Roos-Rood, Shelly d'Arcambal, and Alison Mazzola

Mary Boone, Will Cotton, and Rose Dergan

Meredith Dunn, Zack Peck, and Melody Randol

Marie Ackerly and Alina Cho

Michael Mailer, Lisa Crosby, Chuck Pfeifer, and Taki Theodoracopulos

Michael Rockefeller and Chuck Scarborough

Roger Waters and Dirk Wittenborn

Morgan Entrekin and Anne Hearst McInerney

Robert A. M. Stern and James Reginato

Susan Gutfreund and Hunt Slonem

Shelley Wanger and Donna Tartt

Terry McDonnell and Stacy McDonnell

Tony Peck, Randy Harris, and Rob Weisenthal

William Bratton, Rikki Klieman, and George Farias

More catching up. Last Monday, a week, over at Creel & Gow, that chic den of collectibles on 70th Street right next door to the mansion Bunny Mellon had built, there was a reception and book signing for Marella Caracciolo Chia and her new book which she co-authored with her aunt, "Marella Agnelli, the Last Swan."

Sra. Agnelli, someone pointed out to me, isn't actually "the last" of the swans, so dubbed by Truman Capote back in his glory days before he was banished. However, Sra. Agnelli does indeed have the extraordinary elegance of a swan, and when you read the book about her life and her houses, you can see why anybody would rather be rich. This book is as beautiful as its subject and assembled and written by her niece with a kind of serene understanding. I was thinking while reading and looking through, that the other-worldliness of the Agnellis is exotic to the American eye, as if it were a film by Visconti or Bertolucci -- for Vogue. It's a life we don't know but so well lived that we can enjoy it.

Last but not least. The 17th Annual Food Allergy Ball, benefiting Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), took place on December 8th in the Temple of Dendur at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All proceeds benefit FARE, the nation's leading organization working on behalf of the 15 million Americans who have food allergies.

The evening honoed Martin L. Edelman, of counsel, Real Estate Department, Paul Hastings LLP, for his commitment to FARE's mission. Geoffrey Zakarian, the noted chef and restaurateur, received the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to an outstanding restaurateur for his commitment to excellence and compassion for diners with food allergies.

Sharyn T. Mann and Lianne Mandelbaum served as Gala Dinner Chairs and David H. Koch as the Corporate Dinner Chair. Julie and Jason Ader, Liana Silverstein Backal and Arthur Backal, Abbey and Steven Braverman, Dr. Patricia and James Cayne, Nina Rennert Davidson and Mitchell Davidson, Kathy Franklin, Abby and Robert Goldstein, Nicole and Marc Lenner, Roxanne and Dean Palin, Joelle and Jonathan Resnick, Diana and Ira Riklis and Stacey and Marc Saiontz served as the Benefit Dinner Chairs.

Jessie Mueller, Tony Award-winning star of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," gave a special performance.

Jessie Mueller

Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) works on behalf of the 15 million Americans with food allergies, including all those at risk for life-threatening anaphylaxis. This potentially deadly disease affects 1 in every 13 children in the U.S. – or roughly two in every classroom. Formed in 2012 as a result of a merger between the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network and the Food Allergy Initiative, FARE's mission is to find a cure for food allergies, and to keep individuals with food allergies safe and included. For more information, please visit www.foodallergy.org.